Music stops in full screen preview mode??

[claessens]

Hi all,

I am using P2E v5.5 for a few weeks now and am very pleased with the tremendous possibilities!

However, suddenly a problem has surfaced: in full screen preview mode the music stops at a certain point.

After saving the project > doing Create, the created exe also shows the problem at the same point in time.

But when previewing in the mini-viewer, all is OK from beginning to end??

- The problem occurs at the exact point where I yesterday deleted a slide, and inserted a new one.

- I am using just one soundtrack, which is showing correctly in the project options> music tab with a correct length of 9:15 minutes.

- I have checked that the newly inserted slide does not contain any references to music files, and that "play new music here" is not checked.

I'm baffled... any ideas??

Thanks - Dirk

[Ken Cox]

DIRK

try it un sync'd

report back

ken

[claessens]

Hi Ken,

Thanks for the fast reply.

"Synchronize music and slides" is _not_ checked in Project Options.

However, it _may_ have been checked in the past when I was experimenting.

In the .pte- file, I see the following section:

opt_autosynch=0

opt_synchpermitcontrol=0

opt_synch_count=142

opt_synchpos1=4000

opt_synchpos2=8000

opt_synchpos3=11300

opt_synchpos4=15433

opt_synchpos5=20000

opt_synchpos6=24000

opt_synchpos7=28000

opt_synchpos8=32000

.....

opt_synchpos94=362900

opt_synchpos95=366333

opt_synchpos96=370200 <== music stops here

opt_synchpos97=374333

opt_synchpos98=377967

....

opt_synchpos137=532333

opt_synchpos138=536667

opt_synchpos139=540667

opt_synchpos140=544534

opt_synchpos141=551733

opt_synchpos142=556667

opt_synchpos143=563833

opt_synch_pointscount=143

opt_syncmode=0

=======

This is what is in the pte-file for slides 95-96-97.

As mentioned above the problem occurs at slide 96;

[slide95]

ShowPic=1

Picture=D:\data\foto\REIZEN\Bulgarije\Plovdiv\jpg\DSC_8768-01.jpg

Sound=@

UsePersonal=1

Pers_Fon=0

Pers_RunApp=0

Pers_Effect=1

Pers_CompressKeypoints=0

RunAppFN=

Pers_EndAction=

bstyle=1

bname=0

bcolor1=16711680

bcolor2=0

bcolorStyle=1

bsize=20

Effect_Class=2

Effect_Type=1

EffectTime=1500

EffectUseSmoothline=0

EffectSmoothline=350

EffectCenterX=50

EffectCenterY=50

EffectRollVariants=1

EffectRollDiameter=400

EffectRollUseBackColor=0

EffectRollBackColor=12632256

EffectBroomOffset=20

MusicAction=1

MusicCount=0

object DSC_8768-01:MainImage

GUID={05F8CF91-9762-4E3A-A894-7A6AA7FE757F}

FitMode=PlaceInto

PosMode=Percent

CenterMode=Percent

DeltaTime1=0

DeltaTime2=0

TranspForClick=0

PerspectiveCorrection=0

ShadowEnable=0

ShadowSize=16

ShadowColor=0,0,0

ShadowOpacity=59

ShadowDistance=1.5

ShadowAngle=45

ShadowSpreadIndex=0

Action=

PanSpeed=2;196500;199436;1;0;1;0;1;0;1;

RotateSpeed=2;196500;199436;1;0;1;0;1;0;1;

ZoomSpeed=2;196500;199436;1;0;1;0;1;0;1;

Antialiased=1

SimpleBlure=0

MipLevels=0

Filtering=Default

ImageName=D:\data\foto\REIZEN\Bulgarije\Plovdiv\jpg\DSC_8768-01.jpg

object KeyPoint1:KeyPoint

Time=0

Origin=SlideBegin

Opacity=100

Angle=0

ScaleX=162.05603

ScaleY=162.05603

Position=38.4375,-11.71875

CenterPos=0,0

end

object KeyPoint2:KeyPoint

Time=2936

Origin=SlideBegin

Opacity=100

Angle=0

ScaleX=119.672134

ScaleY=119.672134

Position=19.375,0

CenterPos=0,0

end

end

[slide96] <== music stops here===

ShowPic=1

Picture=D:\data\foto\REIZEN\Bulgarije\Plovdiv\jpg\sheep_scape.jpg

Sound=@

UsePersonal=1

Pers_Fon=0

Pers_RunApp=0

Pers_Effect=1

Pers_CompressKeypoints=0

RunAppFN=

Pers_EndAction=

bstyle=1

bname=0

bcolor1=16711680

bcolor2=0

bcolorStyle=1

bsize=20

Effect_Class=2

Effect_Type=1

EffectTime=1500

EffectUseSmoothline=0

EffectSmoothline=350

EffectCenterX=50

EffectCenterY=50

EffectRollVariants=1

EffectRollDiameter=400

EffectRollUseBackColor=0

EffectRollBackColor=12632256

EffectBroomOffset=20

MusicAction=1

MusicCount=0

object sheep_scape:MainImage

GUID={856C3CA6-37A9-4AEC-8B9F-77576B879316}

ImageName=D:\data\foto\REIZEN\Bulgarije\Plovdiv\jpg\sheep_scape.jpg

object KeyPoint1:KeyPoint

end

end

[slide97]

ShowPic=1

Picture=D:\data\foto\REIZEN\Bulgarije\Boottocht\jpg\DSC_8843-01.jpg

Sound=@

UsePersonal=1

Pers_Fon=0

Pers_RunApp=0

Pers_Effect=1

Pers_CompressKeypoints=0

RunAppFN=

Pers_EndAction=

bstyle=1

bname=0

bcolor1=16711680

bcolor2=0

bcolorStyle=1

bsize=20

Effect_Class=2

Effect_Type=1

EffectTime=1500

EffectUseSmoothline=0

EffectSmoothline=350

EffectCenterX=50

EffectCenterY=50

EffectRollVariants=1

EffectRollDiameter=400

EffectRollUseBackColor=0

EffectRollBackColor=12632256

EffectBroomOffset=20

MusicAction=1

MusicCount=0

object DSC_8843-01:MainImage

GUID={73745A9C-AC6A-4415-B17D-DF8B1C3B6ADC}

FitMode=PlaceInto

PosMode=Percent

CenterMode=Percent

DeltaTime1=0

DeltaTime2=0

TranspForClick=0

PerspectiveCorrection=0

ShadowEnable=0

ShadowSize=16

ShadowColor=0,0,0

ShadowOpacity=59

ShadowDistance=1.5

ShadowAngle=45

ShadowSpreadIndex=0

Action=

PanSpeed=1;371667;0;0;1;

RotateSpeed=1;371667;0;0;1;

ZoomSpeed=1;371667;0;0;1;

Antialiased=1

SimpleBlure=0

MipLevels=0

Filtering=Default

ImageName=D:\data\foto\REIZEN\Bulgarije\Boottocht\jpg\DSC_8843-01.jpg

object KeyPoint1:KeyPoint

Time=0

Origin=SlideBegin

Opacity=100

Angle=0

ScaleX=120.785217

ScaleY=120.785217

Position=20.625,0

CenterPos=0,0

end

end

[Conflow]

Dirk,

You wrote..." The problem occurs at the exact point where I yesterday deleted a slide, and inserted a new one"...

This might help you:- When you delete an Image it leaves behind a 1.kB Dat File in the location of the missing Image.

If you open up PTE Main Window (Classic view) and re-load the Show and go down the 'Main Window File List' you should see

the .dat File ~you need to delete this and re-save the Show (Save As) ~ this recreates the .pte File (Work in progress) and

hopefully all should be O.K.

Alternatively remove the new Image, then again 'Save As' to re-create a new .pte File, this should work. Later on you

can introduce your new Image and re-save again. Sounds more complicated than actually doing it...

Hope this helps.

Brian.Conflow.

[claessens]

Dirk,

You wrote..." The problem occurs at the exact point where I yesterday deleted a slide, and inserted a new one"...

This might help you:- When you delete an Image it leaves behind a 1.kB Dat File in the location of the missing Image.

If you open up PTE Main Window (Classic view) and re-load the Show and go down the 'Main Window File List' you should see

the .dat File ~you need to delete this and re-save the Show (Save As) ~ this recreates the .pte File (Work in progress) and

hopefully all should be O.K.

Alternatively remove the new Image, then again 'Save As' to re-create a new .pte File, this should work. Later on you

can introduce your new Image and re-save again. Sounds more complicated than actually doing it...

Hope this helps.

Brian.Conflow.

Thanks for the tips Brian, but...

The problem remains; (I've tried both the methods you suggested.)

I've also tried a version without slide 96 and now the musics stops at the next slide.

Assuming all was saved correctly, it keeps me puzzled why previewing in the mini-viewer works perfectly but going into fullscreen mode (or testing a generated exe) fails???

I have rechecked all slide settings again:

-There is 1 reference to a soundtrack of 9:15 minutes in Project Options>Music,

-There are 2 references to short sound effects attached directly to 2 slides (not anywhere near the point where the music stops)

- I have 142 slides

- Compiled exe size is +/- 170 MByte.

I'm at loss here and am suspecting a serious bug in P2E v5.5...

[Ken Cox]

turn music off

re saveas nomusic.pte

see if it runs

report back

ken

[Lin Evans]

Hi Dirk,

This may sound strange but take your music out entirely and save the PTE file. Open the music in Audacity and export it under a different name then re-insert music and try it again.

What this could be is a slight corruption in the MP3 which may not be detected by all music players. I don't think this is a bug in PTE - too many people have used it without issues after adding music, removing music, etc., actually thousands so more likely an issue with the music file itself.

Audacity sets things right when it exports and I'm betting that this will solve the issue.

Best regards,

Lin

Hi all,

I am using P2E v5.5 for a few weeks now and am very pleased with the tremendous possibilities!

However, suddenly a problem has surfaced: in full screen preview mode the music stops at a certain point.

After saving the project > doing Create, the created exe also shows the problem at the same point in time.

But when previewing in the mini-viewer, all is OK from beginning to end??

- The problem occurs at the exact point where I yesterday deleted a slide, and inserted a new one.

- I am using just one soundtrack, which is showing correctly in the project options> music tab with a correct length of 9:15 minutes.

- I have checked that the newly inserted slide does not contain any references to music files, and that "play new music here" is not checked.

I'm baffled... any ideas??

Thanks - Dirk

[claessens]

turn music off

re saveas nomusic.pte

see if it runs

report back

ken

Yes it runs perfectly Ken, but without music...

[Ken Cox]

turn music back on the nomusic.pte

resave as musicon.pte

report back

ken

[claessens]

What this could be is a slight corruption in the MP3 which may not be detected by all music players.

Hi Lin,

I guess you're absolutely right!

The problem occurs at the point where a previous piece of music fades out and a new piece is fading in, I really should have mentioned this earlier. Something must be wrong at that point, but what?

Note that the sound track _was_ edited and exported to mp3 with Audacity.

When I export to mp3, Audacity prompts me with the choice to export as "most flexible" or as "most compatible".

Until now I have always chosen most flexible, I will give "most compatible" a try.

However, a few things keep bugging me:

- why does the problem not occur in miniviewer mode?

- why does the soundtrack behaves normally with Audacity and Windows Media Player?

[Lin Evans]

Hi Dirk,

LOL - I long ago gave up trying to figure out "why" certain MP3 selections and such work properly with some music players and not with others. I've decided to relegate the reasons to black art, gremlins, witchcraft or playful elves (take your pick). Whenever I encounter a really strange occurrence such as this I just scratch my head, import and re-export the selection through the gremlin filter of Audacity once again and all is well.

Not having access to the internal code of PTE I suspect that a different library is being used for the mini-player audio which may account for the fact that the music plays all the way through with the mini-player yet fails with the preview and executable (which are really the same in that the preview is simply a temp exe creation). Why removing and inserting a slide caused this issue (if it's not just an unlikely coincidence) is and probably will remain a mystery.

I do use most compatible when I export from Audacity for PTE myself....

Best regards,

Lin

Hi Lin,

I guess you're absolutely right!

The problem occurs at the point where a previous piece of music fades out and a new piece is fading in, I really should have mentioned this earlier. Something must be wrong at that point, but what?

Note that the sound track _was_ edited and exported to mp3 with Audacity.

When I export to mp3, Audacity prompts me with the choice to export as "most flexible" or as "most compatible".

Until now I have always chosen most flexible, I will give "most compatible" a try.

However, a few things keep bugging me:

- why does the problem not occur in miniviewer mode?

- why does the soundtrack behaves normally with Audacity and Windows Media Player?

[Conflow]

Dirk,

I tend to agree with Lin about MP3 Files ~ 'black magic' at times. But something comes to mind about

Audacity and I wonder if this is the culprit (I don't mean Audacity) viz:-

Correct me if I'm wrong:-...I assume your Background-Track incorporates various individual Tracks

and I wonder how you stitched these together to make the 'Background-Track ? If there is a slight discontinuety or gap in the Mp3 Track-Line the Sound Player will "freeze" and most likely will "freeze"

the Show. Its the way MP3 is, it needs an uninterrupted track line for sound continuety purposes.

Audacity tends to jump these gaps being a Sound Editor and indeed I had similar problems in the

past, now I 'overlay' Tracks rather than 'butt-joint' them and sometimes I use the Audacity Silent Line

to assure absolute continuety....Just a thought ! (Example below) it might help.

Brian.Conflow.

[claessens]

Dirk,

Correct me if I'm wrong:-...I assume your Background-Track incorporates various individual Tracks

and I wonder how you stitched these together to make the 'Background-Track ? If there is a slight discontinuety or gap in the Mp3 Track-Line the Sound Player will "freeze" and most likely will "freeze"

the Show. Its the way MP3 is, it needs an uninterrupted track line for sound continuety purposes.

Brian.Conflow.

Thanks for the input Brian, it is appreciated.

I indeed constructed the track by opening the various mp3files in Audacity, cutting the desired fragment, adding some fade-in/fade-out affects where needed, and finally stitching everything together with cut & paste.

I have also added "silence bits" to make sure there were no disconinuities. ( when i zoom in with audacity, I cannot see any gaps as the one you posted)

Anyway, I did some thinking last night...

To check whether there is some kind of weird mp3 problem directly related to the specific point in time where the music unexpectedly stops, I copied the apparently offending piece of sound ( plus 30 seconds before and after the point where the problem occurs ) to a new file, and used that to play the show.

Guess what? the music did not stop, it worked...

Yet another experiment: I converted the (failing) mp3 to wav-format.

As you know, wav only contains only raw waveform data, there is no more mp3 compression or other hanky-panky.

Guess what? The music stopped at exactly the same point as with the mp3...

HELP!! :( :(

[claessens]

OK.... I decided to stop investigating...

It took me a couple af hours, but I have re-assembled the soundtrack from scratch and the problem is gone...

Many thanks to all responders for all the tips, I have learned a lot!